“As long as we can get them delivered.”
“Done.” Aster reached for her sister’s hand, and Corinne squeezed in response, managing a feeble smile. They turned for the car, walking in step. Just as Corinne hit the unlock button, Natasha caught up to them. “I can drive,” she offered to Corinne. “Please. You just sit in the back and rest.”
Corinne looked at Natasha warily, then shrugged and handed over the keys. Natasha pocketed them and sauntered to the car. There was a ping, and she opened her phone to answer an incoming text, her fingers flying across the screen.
Aster stiffened. After all that had just happened, all they’d just confessed and argued over, Natasha was texting? “Who are you talking to?” she snapped.
Natasha stopped typing. “A client. Since we’re leaving, I figured I could fit in a few private sessions tomorrow. Is that okay?”
Aster shot daggers at Natasha’s back. After Corinne had been nice enough to invite her, she’d caused so much trouble that now they were leaving. And even worse, all of them had unburdened themselves . . . and yet Natasha had just sat there, Buddha-like, absorbing all of it, not revealing a thing.
Aster settled into the backseat with Corinne next to her, while Rowan climbed into the front. Aster looked longingly at the property as they pulled away. She hadn’t even gotten to go upstairs and visit her old bedroom. Her gaze drifted to the caretakers’ house across the lawn. It looked vacant, all the windows dark. She wondered if Danielle’s dad still lived there; Danielle’s mom, Julia, had moved away the summer Aster spent in Europe. Aster had always wondered if it was because she’d discovered Danielle and Mason’s affair, or because her marriage had just finally ended.
The SUV rolled down the long driveway, which circled the shore, passed the tennis courts, and, finally, offered a view of the family’s private dock. The Edith Marie, the family’s sailboat, was the only vessel bobbing on the water, its masts bare and a large canvas tarp covering the hull. The rest of the dock was empty, the water lapping despondently at the shore. Aster stared at that strip of sand. She knew the others were too. It was where Steven Barnett’s body had been discovered five years ago.
Natasha stopped the car for a moment. She didn’t say a word, and neither did the other cousins, but it was clear what they were thinking. After a few beats, she faced forward again and drove on.
The only way to the main island was over the steel bridge that spanned the narrow sound. The bridge was empty as Natasha neared it. The sky seemed to grow even darker. The tall grasses on either side of the road swayed back and forth. Mist rolled in off the water, shrouding the car in wispy clouds.
“Turn on the lights,” Aster called out uneasily.
Natasha found the switch for the lights and pulled onto the bridge. “Listen, I wasn’t entirely truthful in there,” she started to say, her voice strangely high and breathy. “There’s something you need to know.”
Aha! Aster thought, triumphant. “What is it?”
Natasha’s throat bobbed. The car engine chugged. “It’s about Poppy. And it’s about—”
“Watch out!” Corinne yelled urgently, pointing at something in the windshield.
Headlights shone in front of them, suddenly very close. A car was driving right for them from the other direction, taking up the whole bridge. Aster’s vision went white as the oncoming car careened closer. Before she knew what was happening, Natasha had yanked the steering wheel to the right, slamming on the brakes and laying on the horn.
Their car skidded, then fishtailed. There was a crash as something hit them, and then a crunch. Aster felt her body hurtling forward; her cheek slammed against the back of Natasha’s seat. Someone screamed. Aster felt momentarily and unexpectedly weightless, and all at once, there was a loud boom and she jolted backward. Finally the car stopped, and everything was eerily quiet.
ASTER CAME TO on the floor of the backseat, her legs splayed above her. The interior of the car was dark. When she looked out the window, Aster saw . . . bubbles. She shot up, horrified.
They were in the water, and sinking fast.
“Hey!” she yelled. It was so dim inside the car that all she could see were gray shadows. “Is everyone okay?”
No one answered. When Aster reached out, she felt something wet. Blood? Her heart hammered fast, but she tried not to panic. “Rowan?” she cried. “Corinne?”
There was rustling in the front seat. “What happened?” came Rowan’s voice.
“Oh my God,” Corinne said, next to Aster. And then, more sharply, “Oh my God!”
“Where’s Natasha?” Aster screamed, fumbling around in the darkness.
Leather squeaked as Rowan moved over. “She’s right here,” Rowan called from the front seat. “Natasha?” she yelled. “Natasha!”
No answer.